EXOTIC CHRISTMAS WINDOWS IN 2K18

This year Harrods’ famous Christmas window display will take customers on a festive journey, featuring a number of different scenes across a 24-hour period. The tableau showcases familiar festive rituals with a luxury Harrods twist: unwrapping gifts with Bottega Veneta, a giant Christmas dinner featuring food from Harrods’ iconic food halls, The Dolce & Gabbana Leftover Fridge and party time with Elie Saab

This year the animals carved into the pillars and panels of the iconic Liberty store are being brought to life in The Liberty Christmas Story. Across the windows, black and white 2D animals are displayed against a background of festive home scenes, while a string of Christmas trees with twinkling lights adorn the balcony above

Monkeys swing from the ceiling, lions relax by the fireside and elephants sit at the head of dinner tables, all of which were hand drawn by Liberty Fabric print designer Ffion Griffith.

Stroll through Knightsbridge and you’ll struggle to miss Harvey Nichols’ glittering window display, with its lime green backdrop, metallic palette and twinkling lights. The first and second windows are filled up with a giant Champagne bottle, which then pops, pouring hues of old and silver across the remaining window displays

Gifts from beauty, fashion and food & wine run throughout the windows, surrounded by hanging baubles and luxurious gold leaf. In honour of the new Mary Poppins Disney film, four original costumes worn by the cast appear in the display, as well as some umbrellas.

As is tradition, Selfridges was the first department store to unveil its Christmas windows way back in October, one week before Halloween. This year’s theme is rock’ n’ roll, inspired by the idea of Santa going on tour.

A lot of hard work went into the design: it has been in the making for a year, and in the week before its big reveal a team of more than 100 staff worked on non-stop rotated shifts to prepare the display for the public. The music-themed windows show Santa in a range of different rock outfits, with collaborations from designers such as Halpern and J Brand.

Fortnum & Mason’s Christmas window displays are worked on all the way through the year, from coming up with the concept in January to the unveiling in November. This year the eight windows stretched across their Piccadilly façade bring festive food and drink to life. One shows a Christmas tree made entirely out of Champagne glasses, with fizz cascading around it.

In another, a turkey in a paper hat can be seen bursting out from a giant cracker, surrounded by its glittering trimmings. A metallic lobster also features, with gold prawns standing to attention; while a herd of mince pies pull along a sleigh.